The Newburgh Urban Farm and Food Initiative (NUFFI) welcomed around 50 guests to their Grow With Us/High Tunnel Hello on Sunday, November 7.

Board members of NUFFI, members of the State University of New York Orange, members of the Newburgh school district, Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson, Councilman At-Large Anthony Grice and other community members enjoyed conversation, apple cider, apples, and homemade squash soup in the high tunnel. NUFFI Executive Director Virginia Kasinki and NUFFI Board Chair Ramona Burton took charge of the planning and execution of the event.

During the course of the afternoon, several volunteers and members of the farm offered tours of the site to visitors.

Christine Hutchinson, Executive Director & Chair of Our Core joined in the community celebration at the Urban Farm. Hutchinson has worked closely with the Urban Farm since 2017 and works closely with the Newburgh youth with her background as a Newburgh educator. While many people may not know that the farm is there due to their location, when people arrive, they are greeted with resources and programs that want to be taught. Hutchinson is looking forward to scouting out areas that can be expanded upon for growing spaces. Grice has supported Our Core since its inception and continues to support the programming, working with Hutchinson. Grice also recognizes the importance of urban agriculture and farming and for those who may not know where to go, the Urban Farm is a resource they can surely use.

“Coming up here (Urban Farm) will help them get those supports that they need,” Grice said. Grice notes gardens and food stands are possibilities through the support of the Urban Farm resources.

“I am just amazed at how many neighbors showed up,” NUFFI Program Director Liana Hoodes said. Hoodes has been a part of the Urban Farm here in the city since 2015. While she recognizes the busy lives of her neighbors, Hoodes expresses her thanks for the community support whether members can come and take part in the growing or not. Hoodes also discussed the feedback of residents who may need specific greens or food and the Urban Farm was open to learning more about those foods and growing it. “We are all a part of making all of us healthy, and we can do it in small ways and large ways,” Hoodes said. “We need to look out for each other.”

Urban agriculture specialist, Joseph Heller, from the United States Department of Agriculture was happy to take part in the community celebration but expressed his thoughts on the necessity of urban agriculture and resources for the every day person. “We have a big disconnect between knowing about the types of foods that we can eat that are healthy for us and the distance the food travels to our plate,” Heller said. During the course of the pandemic, access to food became difficult, but with resources like the Urban Farm, Heller believes that students, children and older residents have the opportunities to work closely with the farmers and take that education home, grow their own food and live healthy. “People are becoming more connected to the land,” Heller said. “Understand the value of land because land is extremely important. Food should be accessed to all people, especially healthy food.”

As the event progressed, guests started to make their way into the High Tunnel. Burton called everyone and expressed several remarks of thanks and appreciation for all the guests and representatives that took part in the day.